Buy Organic: Pesticides Linked to ADHD

If you’ve been on the fence about buying organic fruits and vegetables, the latest report may push you over.

Kids with higher levels of a common pesticide found on fruit and vegetables had twice the risk for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) than children with less exposure, a nationwide study suggests, according to CNN/Health.com.

“These findings support the hypothesis that organophosphate (pesticide) exposure,at levels common among US children, may contribute to ADHD prevalence.Prospective studies are needed to establish whether this associationis causal,” authors of the study wrote.

Researchers studied urine samples from 1,139 children between 8 and 15 years. By interviewing caretakers, they concluded that about one in ten met children met the criteria for ADHD, about the same percentage of the general population.

Once they accounted for factors such as gender, age and race, researchers found the odds of having ADHD rose with the level of pesticide found in the children’s urine.

According to a 2008 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, detectable levels of pesticides are present in a large number of fruits and vegetables sold in the U.S..

The agency found that 28 percent of frozen blueberries, 20 percent of celery, and 25 percent of strawberries contained traces of one type of pesticide. Other types of pesticides were found in 27 percent of green beans, 17 percent of peaches, and 8 percent of broccoli.

Don’t stop your kids from eating fruits and vegetables, but you should consider buying organic or local produce. A thorough washing of fruit and vegetables can also help reduce the amount of pesticide exposure.

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